Lamu residents to benefit from first intensive care unit

@ppcheti

Lamu residents will benefit from the county's first intensive care unit at King Fahd Referral Hospital.

The ICU wing is designated for critically ill patients with potentially recoverable life-threatening conditions.

It is equipped with high-tech specialised facilities for management, close and continuous monitoring, rapid intervention and extended treatment of patients with acute organ dysfunction.

Lamu Governor Fahim Twaha said the new facility is a great milestone towards availing critical care in the county.

He spoke when he presided over the ICU launch on Wednesday.

“I am glad that we are setting up the ICU. We shall continue to gradually upgrade the infrastructure and personnel.

"We plan to increase its three-bed capacity to 13 as well as the number ventilators, air conditioning units and employ fully trained ICU nurses,” Twaha said.

At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, Lamu struggled due to lack of ICU facilities, which are crucial in the management of the viral disease.

Many patients who needed to be put on oxygen and ventilators had to seek services in other counties.

The governor said apart from the ICU, the county government is also building an ultra-modern laboratory at the same hospital.

The laboratory is being upgraded to meet the World Health Organization standards.

Phase one of the project will consist of various laboratory units including the microbiology, biochemistry, hematology and histology sections.

“With the completion of this project, the hospital will have a building that satisfies the criteria for infrastructure accreditation.

"Allowing the laboratory to be ISO certified will help serve the residents of Lamu better and more effectively,” Twaha said.

Lamu Health executive Anne Gathoni said the budget for the second phase of the facility has been allocated.

She said the funds will allow further extension and development of a PCR molecular laboratory for screening and testing of infectious diseases.

The executive said the county government continues to implement a raft of measures to increase and enable access to quality and affordable healthcare for all.

She said the county has invested heavily in health infrastructure, including the building of five new dispensaries and the remodeling and upgrading of medical facilities countywide.

Gathoni said the county has also purchased four new ambulances, established a blood bank in Mokowe and opened a methadone clinic.

She said the county has also expanded the workforce in the health sector through the recruitment of more than 200 healthcare professionals and specialists.

“We have also improved maternity services, which has seen the number of women giving birth in hospitals go up from 68 per cent to 90 per cent," Gathoni said.

The executive said they have also enrolled more than 20,000 households in the NHIF.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)